Golf club sole plate

ABSTRACT

A sole plate for golf club woods and which is flush fitted to the underside of the club head, includes a wedge-locking and locating shape, and is formed to provide a protrusion which extends therebeneath and forms an obstruction of increasing breadth and depth to relatively lift the club head and preclude the taking of an excessive divot.

O Unlted States Patent 11 1 11 3,815,921

Turner June 11, 1974 [54] GOLF CLUB SOLE PLATE 2,014,829 9/1935 Young 273/174 9 273 172 [75] Inventor: m Tume" Royal iii/i323 A l 'i t sriious 273/169 1c FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73 1 Ass'gnee' Products 11,463 5/1902 Great Britain 2731174 [22] Filed: Mar. 13, 1972 364,845 1/1932 Great Britain 273/174 1,063,798 3 9 7 7 7 [21] Appl- Not: 234,131 /1 6 Great Brltam 2 3/16 A Primary ExaminerAnton O. Oechsle [52] US. Cl. 273/174, 273/167 A Assi tant ExaminerRichard J. Apley [51] Int. Cl A63b 53/04 A n y. g n or Fi mDale A tin Winnie [58] Field of Search 273/35 R, 77 R, 80 C, 164,

273/167-175, 193 R, 194 R [57] ABSTRACT A sole plate for golf club woods and which is flush fit- [56] References C'ted ted to the underside of the club head, includes a UNITED STATES PATENTS wedge-locking and locating shape, and is formed to 1,619,566 3/1927 Crankshaw 273/174 X provide a protrusion which extends therebeneath and 1,669,482 5/1928 Miller 273/174 forms an obstruction of increasing breadth and depth 13681286 7/I932 273/174 to'relatively lift the club head and precIude the taking 1,910,055 5/1933 273/172 of an excessive div0t 1,942,434 1/1934 273/169 2,004,968 6/1935 Young 273/174 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GOLF CLUB sou; PLATE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a tendency with golfers using woods on a fairway to either swing their club too low, and take a heavy divot, or to pull-up and top the ball to avoid the divot problem.

On unwatered sun-baked fairways, or where the grass is sparse, cut close, tramped or worn down, the ball lies right on the ground. In order to engage the face of the club with the ball, to obtain the necessary loft, it is advisable to take some turf with the shot. However, if the club is swung too low and too much turf is taken, the full power of the stroke is lost.

Accordingly, golfers are faced with a real problem, which only the most proficient or professional golfer is capable of coping with, and even they have their off days. Moreover, many a golfer has sprained his wrist or shoulder muscles in a deep divot shot and is consequently very cautious when faced with a fairway lie that requires the use of another wood shot.

Heretofore, some innovations in golf club head or woods have been proposed to cope with this problem but they have generally involved either an extension of the striking face of the club on a protrusion on the underside of the club to minimize the chance of topping the ball, or a keel or rib that will supposedly assist the club head in cutting through the turf and minimizing the divot resistance problem.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention is directed to an improvement in golf club heads, for woods, which includes a sole plate provided on the underside of the club head and which is formed to provide a protrusion therebelow normal to the striking face of the club head and spaced rearwardly thereof. This protrusion is of increasing breadth and depth sufficient to form an obstruction which will cause the club head to be relativelyraised or lifted in a follow through stroke and will actually minimize the extent of turf that a club head will take.

In the preferred embodiment hereinafter shown and discussed, the sole plate is formed to include a wedge shaped section flush fitted into the club head near the front face wall and the protrusion, or rub rail obstruction, is provided therewithin with a sufficient radius of curvature and tapered breadth to merge with the sole plates. In use, its increasing breadth and depth serve to relatively push the club head up and to prevent the undercutting of the ball engaging face which contributes to the taking of a large divot.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the underside of a golf club head including the improvement of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a back side elevational view of the same golf club, slightly reduced in dimensional size.

FIG. 3 is a full face plan view of the sole plate and protruding rub rail that is flush fitted to the underside of a club head.

FIG. 4 is a side edge view of the sole plate of the previous drawing figure as disposed for use on a golf club head.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sole plate of the immediately preceeding drawing figure as seen in the plane of lines 5 5 thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT The golf club 10 shown in the first two drawing figures may be any one of the woods conventionally known and used. The club head 12 is formed with a shank 14 at one end and nearer one side to which is joined and wrapped, as at 16, a shaft 18 for swinging the club. The front face wall of the club head is formed to receive an insert 20 of composition material, for striking a golf ball, and the body portion of the club head extends therebehind.

The bottom or underside surface 22 of the club head has the sole plate 24 fastened thereto.

The sole plate is best shown in FIG. 3 bottom-side up and with the wedge-locking shape used to fixedly locate and implant it securely within the bottom wall of the club head and with the four counter-sunk holes 26 used to fasten it in place.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be seen that the sole plate is essentially straight or flat throughout its longitudinal length and has a slight curvature transversely to conform to the toe-to-heel curvature of the underside of the club head. In FIG. 3 it will be seen that the sole plate extends from the front face to the back of the club head and is formed at its front and back I edges 28 and 30 to conform to the general shape of the club head. The wedge shape at the front of the sole plate is formed by inwardly converging side wall edges 32 and 34 and at the back by diverging side wall edges 36 and 38.

The advantage of the wedge shape, at the front of the sole plate, is that it is precluded from being driven rearwardly and requires essentially only two retaining screws at the front and near the back of the plate. Additionally, the two wedge sections, joined at their apices, provides a center section 40, which will positively assure proper location of a given sole plate on a given wood. That is, in manufacture for a set of woods, the

sole plate for one wood can not be mistakenly placed edges of other than the particular club for which it is intended.

Another advantage of the wedge shapes is that it allows for a weight distribution to be built into the sole plate, when this is desirable, as for different makes of golf clubs. If more or less weight is advisable near the back of the club, for whatever reason, the wedge shape at the back is simply made wider or narrower.

In this latter respect, it will be appreciated that the sole plate of the present invention is not primarily for the purpose of changing the weight distribution of a club head, but that it may be used to do so where a change is considered desirable; either because of the inclusion of the sole plate and its special feature, or for any other reason.

Of principal importance, as regards the sole plate 24, is the downwardly depending projection or protrusion 42 which is provided within the forwardly disposed wedge section. This is best described by its function or purpose as a no drag-no dig rub rail. It is cast or otherwise formed as part of the sole plate and is tapered to a breadth of approximately inch, extends 5/16 inch of an inch below the sole plate and includes about inch radius of curvature. It is centrally located in the front wedge section and longitudinally aligned to extend rearwardly from just behind the front edge 28 of the sole plate to about midway. And, it is relatively aligned axially under the shank and shaft of the club, as best shown in FIG. 2.

The rub rail 42- does not extend to the front edge of the club head and does not extend past its mid-section. Accordingly, of itself it provides no obstruction at the front edge of the club head, or imbalance in weight, which will interfere with the normal swing of the club. What it does do is to provide what is essentially a builtin tee for the club head, rather than the ball, in close high turf that sets the ball higher than usual, so that the golfer can grip his club with added assurance of having the driving face of the club aligned with the ball as he swings down and follows through on a fairway shot.

More significantly, however, it dispells the golfers fear of taking a large divot in making a fairway shot where the ball is right on the ground since the rub rail 42 will in fact force the club head up a little upon contact with the ground and avoid the loss of club head speed in an otherwise big turf taking divot shot The relative shape and width of the rub rail precludes it from cutting through the groundor fairway turf, except in exceptionally soft ground, and assures the desired club head lift. It is purposely not made as a rib or flange to cut through the turf, since its purpose is to provide anobstruction which will lift the club head in the course of its swing. But, at the same time, it is not so wide or blunt that it will preclude the club from taking some divot, as is usually necessary in a good fairway shot.

The sole plates of the present invention may be stamped out of aluminum or brass stock and formed to include the necessary curvature, or they may be made in special dies, with the rub rail formed in the course of manufacture, or as a separate step.

The complimentary wedge shape in the bottom wall of the club head, to receive the sole plate, is milled out with a router to assure a flush fit.

Although the wedge shape is preferred, it will be appreciated that in the higher numbered woods the club heads are rather small and inthese instances the rub rail feature may be provided on a full surface sole plate.

I claim: 1. In a golf club of the driver type, a golf club head having a shank at one end and relatively nearer one side to which a shaft is affixed, a front face wall formed for striking engagement with a golf ball, a rearwardly disposed body portion, and an undersurface extending from said front face wall under said body portion for ground contact engagement in the use of said club head, in combination with a sole plate affixed to the undersurface of said club head and having a protrusion formed integrally therewith to extend therebelow and transversely of said club head, said protrusion being disposed normal to and spaced rearwardly from said front face wall and being of increasing breadth and depth from its front face rearwardly towards its midsection for providing an obstruction on the underside of said club head to relatively lift the club head in a follow through stroke of a golf club including said club head and to preclude the taking of an excessive divot, said sole plate including a rearwardly tapered wedge shaped front sectionand being flush fitted into the undersurface of said club head, said protrusion being solely disposed within the wedge shaped front section of said sole plate, and said protrusion having a longitudinal radius of curvature and tapering breadth at opposite ends merging into said sole plate.

2. A golf club head having a shank at one end and relatively nearer one side to which a shaft is affixed, a front face wall formed for striking engagement with a golf ball, a rearwardly disposed body portion, and an undersurface extending from said front face wall under said body portion for ground contact engagement in the use of said club head, in combination with a sole plate affixed to the undersurface of said club head and including wedge shaped forwardly and rearwardly disposed sections converging together and flush fitted into said club head, a protrusion fonned integrally with and from said sole plate to extend therebelow and transversely of said club head, said protrusion being spaced rearwardly of said front face wall normal thereto and disposed solely within said forwardly disposed wedge shaped section, and said protrusion having a longitudinal radius of curvature and of tapering breadth at opposite ends merging it into said sole plate for providing an obstruction on the underside of said club head to relatively lift the club head in a follow through stroke to preclude the taking of an excessively large divot. 

1. In a golf club of the driver type, a golf club head having a shank at one end and relatively nearer one side to which a shaft is affixed, a front face wall formed for striking engagement with a golf ball, a rearwardly disposed body portion, and an undersurface extending from said front face wall under said body portion for ground contact engagement in the use of said club head, in combination with a sole plate affixed to the undersurface of said club head and having a protrusion formed integrally therewith to extend therebelow and transversely of said club head, said protrusion being disposed normal to and spaced rearwardly from said front face wall and being of increasing breadth and depth from its front face rearwardly towards its midsection for providing an obstruction on the underside of said club head to relatively lift the club head in a follow through stroke of a golf club including said club head and to preclude the taking of an excessive divot, said sole plate including a rearwardly tapered wedge shaped front section and being flush fitted into the undersurface of said club head, said protrusion being solely disposed within the wedge shaped front section of said sole plate, and said protrusion having a longitudinal radius of curvature and tapering breadth at opposite ends merging into said sole plate.
 2. A golf club head having a shank at one end and relatively nearer one side to which a shaft is affixed, a front face wall formed for striking engagement with a golf ball, a rearwardly disposed body portion, and an undersurface extending from said front face wall under said body portion for ground contact engagement in the use of said club head, in combination with a sole plate affixed to the undersurface of said club head and including wedge shaped forwardly and rearwardly disposed sections converging together and flush fitted into said club head, a protrusion formed integrally with and from said sole plate to extend therebelow and transversely of said club head, said protrusion being spaced rearwardly of said front face wall normal thereto and disposed solely within said forwarDly disposed wedge shaped section, and said protrusion having a longitudinal radius of curvature and of tapering breadth at opposite ends merging it into said sole plate for providing an obstruction on the underside of said club head to relatively lift the club head in a follow through stroke to preclude the taking of an excessively large divot. 